Justice Dept. Memo Says Torture 'May Be Justified'

By Dana Priest

The Washington Post

June 14, 2004

Today washingtonpost.com is posting a copy of the Aug. 1, 2002,
memorandum "Re: Standards of Conduct for Interrogation under 18 U.S.C.
2340-2340A," from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel for
Alberto R. Gonzales, counsel to President Bush.

The memo was the focus of a recent article in The Washington Post.

The memo was written at the request of the CIA. The CIA wanted
authority to conduct more aggressive interrogations than were permitted prior
to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The interrogations were of
suspected al Qaeda members whom the CIA had apprehended outside the
United States. The CIA asked the White House for legal guidance. The White
House asked the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel for its
legal opinion on the standards of conduct under the Convention Against
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane and Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

The Office of Legal Counsel is the federal government's ultimate
legal adviser. The most significant and sensitive topics that the federal
government considers are often given to the OLC for review. In this
case, the memorandum was signed by Jay S. Bybee, the head of the office at
the time. Bybee's signature gives the document additional authority,
making it akin to a binding legal opinion on government policy on
interrogations. Bybee has since become a judge on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals.

Another memorandum, dated March 6, 2003, from a Defense Department
working group convened by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to come up
with new interrogation guidelines for detainees at Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba, incorporated much, but not all, of the legal thinking from the OLC
memo. The Wall Street Journal first published the March memo.

At a recent Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, senators asked
Attorney General John D. Ashcroft to release both memos. Ashcroft said he
would not discuss the contents of the Justice and Pentagon memos or turn
them over to the committees. A transcript of that hearing is also
available.

President Bush spoke on the issue of torture Thursday, saying he
expected U.S. authorities to abide by the law. He declined to say whether he
believes U.S. law prohibits torture. Here is a link to the White House
transcript of the president's press conference, which included
questions and answers on torture.

The Post deleted several lines from the memo that are not germane to
the legal arguments being made in it and that are the subject of further
reporting by The Post.